Aaron Rodgers put the finishing touches on Green Bay's 2020 regular season on Sunday, defeating the Chicago Bears, 35-16, to secure the No. 1 seed in the NFC. While that win has the Packers' postseason prospects looking extremely promising, that effort, in the eyes of Rodgers' teammate Davante Adams, also has the veteran quarterback solidified as the favorite to win league MVP.
"The MVP should be locked up," Adams said Sunday, via the official team website. "There's nothing else to really talk about. You look at what we've done and what he's been able to do, and they've hit him with everything. (They) said he didn't have any weapons, and we go out there and go 13-3 regular season, which isn't our main goal, obviously, but it's a hell of an accomplishment, especially when you're in your second year with a new staff."
In Sunday's win over Chicago, Rodgers completed 19 of his 24 passes for 240 yards, four touchdowns, and zero interceptions. He came into this game hot, completing his first 10 throws for 155 yards and three scores. That first touchdown gave Rodgers 45 on the season, making him the first quarterback in NFL history to have two seasons with 45 or more passing touchdowns.
Week 17 was also the fourteenth time that Rodgers had a passer rating of at least 100 this season. For the year, Rodgers finished with a passer rating of 121.5, which is second-best in the NFL history and just below his record-breaking mark of 122.5 that he achieved in 2011 (his first MVP season).
If Rodgers were to win the MVP this year, that would give him three for his career. Only Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, and Tom Brady have won the award three times. Rodgers admitted last week that being in the MVP conversation "is important to me" as his strong play to be in that conversation likely means the Packers are in a good spot as well. Joining that group of elite quarterbacks to win three MVPs would also be a key milestone in what already is a Hall of Fame career.
"Not many guys have done it," he told reporters last week, via the Associated Press. "Being a part of history is pretty special. It's the other, personal part of it, where just proving to myself again the level that I can play at, a couple years where although I felt like I played well, the results didn't always line up with how I felt like I was playing. So it's nice to have everything line up the way it has this year and be very efficient throwing the football, to take care of the ball the way I take care of it."
With the 2020 season coming to a close on Sunday. Rodgers finished his year first in the league in completion percentage (70.7), first in touchdown passes (48), first in passer rating (121.5), seventh in passing yards (4,299), and has just five interceptions. Meanwhile, the NFL odds over at William Hill Sportsbook have Rodgers as the heavy betting favorite to win the award at -2400.
